Canadian space agency satellite to launch on a SpaceX rocket this weekend

After several delays, CASSIOPE is set to rocket into orbit around 16:00 Universal Time/ 9:00 AM Pacific time on Sept. 29.

The launch was postponed earlier this month on Sept. 13 for SpaceX to complete tests on its modified Falcon 9 version 1.1 rocket, after a static fire on Sept. 12 revealed technical issues:

The launch was also delayed by several Minuteman III ICBM tests being conducted this week from Vandenberg by the USAF, the latest of which is set to occur early Thursday morning at 3:01-9:01 AM Pacific Time.

This will be the first launch of a Canadian Space Agency satellite atop a Falcon 9 rocket, and the first SpaceX launch from Vandenberg. The launch window is two hours long, and the site is typically used to place satellites in a high inclination polar orbit.

Sept. 29 also marks the 51st anniversary of the launch of Canada’s very first satellite, Allouette-1 which also launched from Vandenberg in 1962. A relic of the early space age, you can still spy Allouette-1 in orbit today.

This will be the first test of the potential reusability of the Falcon 9 rocket as well, which has been successful in hoisting SpaceX’s Dragon capsule to the International Space Station. SpaceX head Elon Musk noted on Twitter the complexity of the mission:

Upcoming Falcon 9 demo has a lot of new technology, so the probability of failure is significant http://t.co/PfnGeEaaWq

The two stage Falcon 9 has been typically disposed of on previous launches from Cape Canaveral, but Musk envisions the system to eventually be fully recoverable and reusable. This falls in line with his Dragon capsule, which is currently the only unmanned spacecraft with a down mass capability to return payloads from the ISS.

Looking a the business end of a Falcon 9 rocket with its nine enormous Merlin engines. Credit-SpaceX

Shortly after launch and separation Sunday, the Falcon 9 first stage will reorient itself to splashdown engines first in the Pacific. This may lead to the first ever recovery of the engine similar to what was seen with the solid rocket boosters in the Shuttle era. A future mission may see the first stage fly itself back to the launch site, a system already being pioneered by SpaceX’s Grasshopper demonstrator.

The CASSIOPE logo. Credit-The Canadian Space Agency

CASSIOPE stands for the Cascade, SmallSat and IOnospheric Polar Explorer, a 1.5 x 1.8 metre 500 kg hybrid satellite that will test several new technologies and will study the aurorae, magnetic interaction with the lower ionosphere and the plasma interactions with the solar wind. CASSIOPE will be placed in a non-sun-synchronous polar inclination 324 x 1500 kilometre orbit. CASSIOPE consists of the dual payloads of e-POP, the Polar Outflow Probe, and the Cascade commercial commsat.

Also on board are six satellites, comprising three secondary payloads;

DANDE: A joint venture of the United States Air Force Space Command, the NOAA and the University of Colorado at Boulder, the Drag and Atmospheric Neutral Density Explorer seeks to study atmospheric drag on satellites.

CUSat: Designed by Cornell University, CUSat hopes to keep two satellites in a tight orbit to simulate on-station inspection techniques.

POPACS: The Polar Orbiting Passive Atmospheric Calibration Sphere, a trio of 10 centimetre spherical sats looking like a set of over-sized golf balls that will measure the atmospheric drag in response to solar activity.

These are exciting times as SpaceX and the Canadian Space Agency once again take to the skies. You can follow both as @SpaceX and @CSA_ASC on Twitter. We’ll have launch coverage including updates and a live broadcast link when it becomes available on our own Twitter feed as @Astroguyz.

Science journalist, astronomy specialist, educator. Retired from the USAF in 2007 and am now a science teacher and freelance science writer. Am out stargazing on every clear night and hope to add science... read more fiction writer to my resume!View author's profile